Peek in the Stacks

Special Collections and Archives holds many collections related to local government and the professional lives of elected officials who have worked to serve the interests of people living in the region. The Joy Picus Collection, documents the political career of Picus, the first female member of the Los Angeles City Council representing

In the history of the United States, religious freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment have frequently come under fire. In the 1920s, the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in concert with restrictive immigration legislation, educational prohibitions, and economic scapegoating, resulted in growing anti-Semitism against Jews...

James Baldwin, American author, social critic, and activist, was born in Harlem in 1924. He was a prominent literary voice during the American Civil Rights movement, and became an inspirational figure for the gay rights movement, as well. A talented writer, Baldwin published works in numerous genres, especially essays ...

Nursery rhymes are verses, chants, or poems spoken or sung to small children to amuse or sooth them. Most were first written down in the 18th century when publications for children moved away from being purely educational, though many rhymes were probably not new at that time. They come from numerous sources, including proverbs, drinking songs, riddles, and historical events or people ...